WEBVTT HOW MUCH MORE THEY’RE LIKELY TO PAY. >> I LIVE IN A COMPLEX THAT IS VERY EXPENSIVE. GULSTAN: PEOPLE LIKE ELODIA DIAZ IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY. >> DOWNTOWN IS GROWING RIGHT OVER US, AND I PRAY THAT MY LANDLORD DOESN’T SELL OUT, BECAUSE THEY ARE WINKING AT HIM EVERY DAY. GULSTAN: KENNETH ADAMS IN SACRAMENTO, AMONG THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN SACRAMEN AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GETTING HELP FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SECTION 8 ASSISTANCE PAYS FOR 70% OF RENT AND UTILITIES, AND THE RENTER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REMAINING 30%. THOSE GETTING A HOUSING VOUCHER CAN LIVE WHEREVER THEY WANT, AS LONG AS THE RENT PRICE MEETS HUD’S STANDARDS. >> WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN DEMAND, PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO REALLY NEED ASSISTANCE. GULSTAN: BUT THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING AVAILABLE DOESN’ COME CLOSE TO FILLING THE NEED, ACCORDING TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HOUSING -- SACRAMENT OF HOUSING AND REDEVELOP AGENCY. >> IN JANUARY, WE HAD 43,000 PEOPLE APPLY FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE, AND WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO ASSIST ABOUT 7000 OF THOSE. MAYBE WE NEED TO LOOK FOR A DIFFERENT MODEL. MAYBE WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT A DIFFERENT WAY TO DO THIS. SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY WORKS. GULSTAN: IN APRI HUD SECRETARY BEN CARSON TALKED ABOUT SWEEPING CHANGES TO THE HOUSING PROGRAMS IN FRONT OF A CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE. PART OF THAT INCLUDES THE MAKE AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORK ACT. CARSON SAYS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE GETTING VOUCHERS WILL NOT CHANGE. >> THE REQUESTED LOWER FUNDING FOR THE HOUSING CHOICE FAUCHER PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE SAME NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS WE CURRENTLY SERVE, AND SHOULD NOT RESULT IN A TERMINATION OF ANY HOUSING VOUCHERS. GULSTAN: BUT ACCORDING TO DATA OBTAINED BY KCRA 3 AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WHAT WILL CHANGE IS WHAT THOSE PEOPLE PAY FOR RENT, AND IT IS GOING TO BE A LOT MORE. IN SACRAMENTO, STOCKTON AT ACROSS THE STATE, 14% OR MORE PER MONTH. >> WHAT WE ARE SEEIN ON AVERAGE IN OUR HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER, O FAMILIES PAY ABOUT $350 A MONTH FOR RENT, AND THIS PROPOSAL WOULD LOOK AT AN INCREASE THAT MIGHT TAKE THEM ANYWHERE FROM $80 TO $100 MORE THAN WHAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY PAYING. GULSTAN: IN SACRAMENTO ALONE THERE ARE 52,700 PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THIS. MORE THAN 18,000 O CHILDREN, MORE THAN 10,000 ELDERLY, AND 8500 ARE DISABLED. WITH HIGHE RENTS, PEOPLE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD OTHER THINGS, LIKE FOOD OR ELECTRICITY. >> PEOPLE TEND TO STRUGGLE, AND IT MAKES THEIR PLIGHT EVEN WORSE. GULSTAN: ADD TO THAT FEWER AND FEWER LANDLORDS WILLING TO TAKE

Elidia Diaz lives in California's Central Valley. She's been waiting to get into low-income housing units due to the rent she's paying -- even in the Central Valley, it's high.

"I live in a complex and the complex is really expensive," said Diaz, who works in the service industry, cleaning motel rooms.

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Kenneth Adams lives at the Congress Hotel in downtown Sacramento. It's not an easy place; the building has a lot of stairs and he has to use a walker. Even with that, he's thankful for the housing voucher he has.

However, Adams worries about whether he'll be able to keep even this room.

"Downtown is growing right over us," Adams said. "I just pray my landlord doesn't sell out to them because they're winking at him every day."

Both Diaz and Adams get help from Section 8 housing assistance vouchers. Section 8 assistance pays for 70 percent of rent and utilities, and the renter is responsible for the remaining 30 percent.

Those getting housing vouchers can live wherever they want as long as the rent price meets Housing and Urban Development standards.

But in April, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson faced a congressional subcommittee questioning the department's budget.

While much of that hearing focused on decorator items bought by Carson, a 2-page proposal that will either go as-is to Congress or be attached to other legislation was part of the discussion.

The Make Affordable Housing Work Act spells out what the agency said are much-needed reforms. Part of that reform is changing what Housing and Urban Development pays for low-income housing. It's a change that will be one of the biggest changes to the housing voucher program in years.

All of this comes at a time when rents in California are rising and occupancy is at an all-time high.

"In January of this year, for two weeks we had 43,000 people apply for housing assistance," said LaShelle Dozier, executive director of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

"We're really only able to assist about 7,000 of those that went onto our wait list," Dozier said.

But Carson said that the agency needs to look at a different model.

"Maybe we need to be thinking about a different way to do this -- something that works," Carson said, adding that the same number of vouchers would be given out and there would be no terminations.

But the rent price will go up. KCRA, in conjunction with The Associated Press, has obtained data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that spells out just how much those housing prices will change.

Low-income voucher holders will be paying a lot more for rent.

In Sacramento, Stockton and across the state, the rent is going to increase 14 percent or more per month. Dozier said that's going to mean a staggering increase for those families she serves.

"What we are seeing is that on average, in our housing choice voucher, our families are paying about $350 a month for rent," Dozier said. "This proposal would look at an increase that might take them to anywhere from $80 to $100 more than what they're currently paying."

Dozier said that this kind of increase can mean tough decisions as to whether to pay for food or electricity or even medical care, or forego that just to make rent for the month.

In Sacramento alone, there are 52,700 people affected by the proposed changes. More than 18,000 are children, more than 10,000 are elderly and 8,500 are disabled.

"People tend to struggle, and it just makes their plight even worse," Dozier said.

Add to the proposed rent increase to the fact that fewer and fewer landlords are willing to take low-income housing tenants. Dozier added that many people could end up on the streets, increasing the homeless population.

The other big population affected is the elderly, many of whom rely on the vouchers to pay for housing. With a steep increase, many may see diminished care or might move to cheaper care homes where their medical needs may not be fulfilled.

One argument for the bill has been to try and increase the number of low-income voucher holders into the workforce.

However, the data obtained by The AP and KCRA shows that the majority of people getting housing vouchers are working and paying into the very budget that helps pay for their housing.